Longmont-area home sales market continues torrid pace

Experts: Biggest concern is lack of choice for buyers

By Tony KindelspireLongmont Times-Call

Posted:
07/13/2013 09:30:46 PM MDT

Updated:
07/15/2013 11:47:39 AM MDT

Dennis Lochard, with WIN Home Inspection, points out features of the window blinds as he walks through the residence at 1504 Clayton Way in Erie with home buyer Dawn McNierney on Thursday.
(
Greg Lindstrom
)

LONGMONT -- The Longmont area home sales market has officially returned to its pre-Great Recession levels, according to Dene Yarwood, a broker/associate in Wright Kingdom Real Estate's Longmont office and the president of the Longmont Association of Realtors' board of directors.

"Everyone that was on the fence jumped off at once, and I don't know how we didn't have an earthquake," Yarwood said. "That's how quick the market changed."

Through the end of the second quarter, single-family home sales have increased 21.5 percent in Longmont compared with the same period last year. Sales are up 15 percent in the Carbon Valley and nearly 6.5 percent in Lafayette. Louisville and Boulder saw a drop in the number of sales: almost 4 percent and almost 2 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, median prices in all five areas climbed across the board, with a jump of nearly 23 percent to $266,000 in the Carbon Valley -- Firestone, Frederick and Dacono -- on the high end and a 4.6 percent jump in Lafayette. The median sales price in Longmont through the second quarter was up 6.4 percent, to $259,090.

The other barometer of a strong sales climate, average days on market, also dropped in all five areas. The biggest drop was in Boulder, where the average time has dropped 57 percent, to 24 from 56 days.

"I'd say it has been strong from the start of the year; actually, from the end of December we started seeing days on the market drop dramatically," said Dave Wagner, a broker/associate with ERA Tradewind Real Estate in Longmont. He said the normally slow holiday season in December was anything but.

"I listed a house on Christmas Eve and sold it Christmas Day; I listed a house on New Year's Eve and sold it New Year's Day," Wagner said.

One of the challenges facing home buyers and their representatives in the real estate community is the lack of choices.

"The big story right now is multiple offers and finding properties for our buyers," said Yarwood.

According to numbers compiled on behalf of LAR by Kyle Snyder of Land Title Guarantee Co., there were 354 active listings at the end of June, compared with 430 listed at the end of June 2012.

Dennis Lochard, with WIN Home Inspection, walks through the residence at 1504 Clayton Way in Erie with home buyer Dawn McNierney on Thursday.
(
Greg Lindstrom
)

But Wagner said that because homes are considered active listings until they're closed on, and sometimes, homes that aren't even built yet are counted as active listings, the number of houses to look at that are free and clear is much smaller.

"I would say it's less than half that," he said.

Builders are starting to build again, albeit slowly. While the number single-family construction permits pulled through May in Longmont -- the most recent numbers available -- were around 40 both this year and last, that's a dramatic difference from 2011, when just seven were pulled in the same time frame.

Wagner said it was the City Council's decision to remove the rules it had in place regarding affordable housing that is encouraging developers to build again.

Still, the selection hasn't caught up to demand yet, and that's leaving some people hesitant in putting their home on the market, Yarwood said.

"I think the biggest challenge that we have is that people who want to move up are hesitant to put their home on the market because they have no place to go, because it's kind of a circle," she said, referring to the extremely tight rental market in the entire Denver metro region.

Wagner agreed, saying he's seen families move in with relatives while they were in transition.

But even with fewer choices, putting a home on a market doesn't guarantee you'll sell it, Yarwood said.

"We can't be pie in the sky about our housing," she said. "All anybody's hearing right now is that homes are selling overnight -- yes, if they're properly priced and properly prepared."

"It's still important that they show well," Wagner added. "And if they show well they're moving really fast, there's no question about it."

He recommends potential buyers keep an eye on is interest rates, which recently went up to more than 4 percent on a 30-year fixed mortgage. Still extremely low by historical standards, the rates jumped, he said, rather dramatically in just a six-week period.

"That was the fastest move in interest rates in over five years, and that can really affect your buying power," he said.

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